Rising Damp

Rising Damp

Rising damp can affect any type of building but is particularly prevalent in older properties where the original damp proof course (DPC) has failed or become damaged. This failed barrier will then allow water from the ground to rise through the fine capillaries in the brickwork leading to an unsightly and problematic rising damp issue. Rising damp only tends to affect ground floor rooms and floors of basements and is usually (although not always) harmless to health. However, the repercussions of rising damp going untreated can be serious as it leads to timber decay and cause heat loss due to the increased conductivity of the walls. Therefore, it is important to know which telltale signs of rising damp to look for:

Wallpaper can develop a brown mark and peel away from the wall.

‘Tide Marks’ and stains along your skirting boards caused by evaporation and salts from the ground.

Solid floors may display a white bloom or white crystals may form from the salt absorption.

Plaster may bubble horizontally.

Skirting boards may start to rot and decay

Rising damp can often be misdiagnosed so if you see any of the above signs higher up in the property there is a chance it may be a different type of damp such as condensation or penetrating damp. If you are unsure contact us for some further expert advice. The general rule of thumb is that the sooner a rising damp problem is diagnosed and dealt with the better as it will minimise further damage to your property and reduce much higher potential costs.

The first step to dealing with rising damp is to find out what exactly is causing the problem. Rising damp can be tricky to not only diagnose but also to treat so it is important to contact a professional like JRM Cellar Conversions for advice. Rising damp is nearly always due to some kind of problem with the damp proof coursing (DPC) so there are a few steps a professional will take to repair the damage:

Firstly they will check to see if there is a DPC on your property - houses built before 1875 probably will not have a DPC. You can check this yourself by looking for a thin strip along the wall near the bottom. However, you will need to speak to an expert to confirm this.

Checking for other problems - sometimes the ground may need to be dug away to below your existing DPC.

Insert a Damp Proof Course (DPC) or repair the existing one - a common treatment where holes are drilled in the walls and damp proof creams injected.